All of John Fairchild's Signature Vocabulary

Infamous for his often volatile, on-again-off-again feuds with the crème de la crème of the international fashion world, longtime Women’s Wear Daily editor in chief John Fairchild was never content to settle for the status quo, even when it came to the English language. As irreverent about conventional editorial terminology as he was about social norms in the front rows of Fashion Week, the publishing titan established terms and phrases that remain standards of the industry to this day. Here, VF Daily compiles a mini reference guide to those now ubiquitous idioms for which we have only Fairchild to thank.

“Ladies who lunch”

n., pl. a group of wealthy society housewives who gather during working hours at the tables of the most chichi restaurants in New York City.

“Hot pants”

n. very high-cut, skin-tight women’s shorts worn as streetwear.

“Walkers”

n. men who socialize without a female companion and who are therefore often thought to be homosexual. syn: “gigolo.” Fairchild most notably used this term in reference to socialite Jerry Zipkin, known for running in circles of the most illustrious society women.

“Social moth”

n. one who blindly follows in the steps of the well-to-do, but unlike a social butterfly, this clinger is necessarily disliked.

“The Cat Pack”

n. clique of the most aristocratic individuals in society, a takeoff on “the Rat Pack.”

“Fashion victim”

n. one who has made an egregious error in sartorial judgment, typically at a high-profile society event.

“Longuette”

n. A style of skirt that extends below the knee, often tight-fitting. Fashion designer Pauline Trigere scoffed at Fairchild’s attempt to coin the term on national television—in so doing, getting herself banned from WWD’s pages—and the word never made it into common parlance.

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